It is both the end of the week and the end of the month, one of my busiest in many years. Today was a very long day, starting in the province of Phang Nga when I walked to work at a large government school in the center of the provincial capital and nearing an end with my return to the island of Phuket just about … Continue reading Dove of Peace
The Lower Oder Valley International Park (Internationalpark Unteres Odertal in German and Międzynarodowy Park Dolina Dolnej Odry in Polish) is a shared German-Polish nature reserve. It comprises the western banks of the Oder river within the Uckermark district in the German state of Brandenburg as well as the steep eastern banks in the Gryfino and Police counties of the Polish West Pomeranian Voivodeship further north. … Continue reading Lower Oder Valley International Park
Gasherbrum II (گاشر برم -2 in Urdu); surveyed as K4, is the 13th highest mountain in the world at 26,362 feet (8,035 meters) above sea level, located in the Karakoram — the world’s second highest mountain range which spans the borders of Pakistan, India, and China, extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan in its northwest extremity. The mountain was first climbed on July 7, 1956, by an … Continue reading Gasherbrum II and the 1956 Austrian Karakoram Expedition
I cannot think of very many, if any, other stamps in my collection, that portray restaurants but that is what is pictured on Michel #4392 issued earlier this year by Portugal. Peter Café Sport is a historic café and restaurant located in the town of Horta, on the island of Faial, Azores. In 1986, Newsweek magazine included the café among the best bars in the … Continue reading Peter Café Sport
On November 26, 1922, British archaeologist and Egyptologist Howard Carter and his financial backer Lord Carnarvon become the first people to enter the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in over 3000 years. Carter became world-famous after discovering the intact tomb (designated KV62) of the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh, colloquially known as “King Tut” and “the boy king”. His original name, Tutankhaten, means “Living Image of Aten”, while … Continue reading Howard Carter Finds King Tut’s Tomb
When I was a teenager, my favorite piece of classic literature was Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel Le Fantôme de l’Opéra or The Phantom of the Opera. I was also a big fan of the 1925 American silent horror film adaptation directed by Rupert Julian and starring Lon Chaney in the title role of the deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House, causing murder and … Continue reading “The Phantom of the Opera” Starring Lon Chaney
On November 24, 1784, Zachary Taylor was born on a plantation in Orange County, Virginia, to a prominent family of planters of English ancestry. His birthplace may have been Hare Forest Farm, the home of his maternal grandfather William Strother, though this has not been determined with certainty. Taylor was the 12th President of the United States, serving from March 1849 until his death in … Continue reading Zachary Taylor
“The Little Mermaid” (Den lille havfrue in Danish) is a fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul. The tale was first published in 1837 and has been adapted to various media, including musical theatre, anime and … Continue reading Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid”
A Stamp A Day 